Au Retour
by Kateen
Summary: When Harry disappears for two years, Dumbledore knows where he's gone - he sent him there. Why don't people accept him, then? What are the Chambers and what the hell happened to Harry?
1. Chapitre 1: Au Retour

**Return – Chapter One**

Harry stepped into the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, his blank Emerald Green eyes unblinking as they scanned the room for people.  Nobody was in sight but he could hear the clicking as someone with heels walked towards him.  His eyes flashed as he turned to face them front on. 

He'd grown since he'd last been in the school, his body had muscled up and he no longer looked like the wide-eyed teenager he'd been then.  His hair had grown from a short, unkempt mess, to a long tangle that had been braided tightly, and was wound around his neck to keep it out of trouble.  All that remained of the young boy, was a lightening-bolt scar, and Emerald Green eyes.

"How can I help you?" asked a tall, prim looking lady.  Her hair pulled back in a tight bun, she was easily recognizable as Professor McGonagall.

"I will speak with the Headmaster," Harry said softly, his voice issuing the command without appearing to.

The magic around him ebbed and flowed as he manipulated it to prevent too many unanswerable questions.  There was, however, a spark of recognition in her eyes and she looked him up and down.

"Harry!" she breathed, as she led him down the corridor to the headmasters' office, "where have you been? We were very worried…" Harry wasn't responding, so she stopped and just led him onwards, his eyes alert, his posture stiff and ready for battle.

She was about to give the password to the gargoyle, when Harry cut his eyes to it and glared fiercely at it, "Move!" he commanded.  It stumbled aside in it's haste to get out of his way.

Pushing the door open, with her eyes wide, McGonagall motioned to the couch in the corner, "wait here, Potter!"

Harry sat down and eyed the room; it hadn't changed a bit, still littered with books, cold mugs of half drunken coffee and partially eaten biscuits.  He picked up one of the books as he waited, but unfortunately he already knew everything in the book he'd unconsciously picked up; _Torture Techniques you never wanted to know!  By __Martin Thumbscrew._

The door swung open again a few minutes later as he flicked through to the section on heat, "You can go in now, Potter," McGonagall said.

Rising, Harry nodded briefly and walked through the door, sensing three minds there with him, he was angered that two people were hiding from him in Animagus form and thought about saying something, but restrained himself at the last minute.

"Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said genially, "Nice to see you again,"

"Padfoot," Harry said bluntly, "transform and get out.  This is a discussion between myself and the headmaster.  Oh, and whoever the other one of you is, get out!" there was a brief pause and then there were two transformations, as Sirius Black appeared, along with Remus Lupin.  Harry blinked at Lupin who, last he knew, had been a werewolf, not an Animagus.  His eyes hardened, "Get out!  And _never spy on me again!"_

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said quietly, "I don't appreciate what you did to me, and what I was put through as a result.  I am here to warn you that, as soon as I have dealt with Voldemort, as I swore all those years ago, I will probably never work with you again, and you are lucky I'm even considering working with you again."

"You need me, Harry," Dumbledore said softly, "you need me to help you on this."

"Actually," Harry corrected him, "I don't.  It is you who needs me.  I could do it by myself, it would just be a little more tedious and harder than necessary.  I'm doing this because I want my friends to live in a world free from fear."

Dumbledore nodded, "Your initiation into the Order will be tonight, and it is expected that you will be here, in my office, at least an hour before the meeting begins.  Is that acceptable?"

"Tradition says only twenty minutes grace is necessary," Harry said quietly, "if you want to talk to me, say so.  I only said when this is all over, I wouldn't work with you.  I will be here, an hour early – as you ask."

He stood and then, as an afterthought, turned around again, "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Ms. Granger will be in the Head Girl's study, and Mr. Weasley will be in the Prefects Common Room, or else with Ms. Granger."

Harry blinked, "Excuse me, Professor, what year is it?"

"You would be in Seventh year, if you were back at school here, Harry," Dumbledore said gently, "It is not as long for us as it has been for you."

With a wave of his hand, the door opened and Harry stalked out, "Moony!  Padfoot!'

The two of them bounded after him, down the corridor, casting strange glances at Dumbledore who was staring with a bemused expression, at the stand where his phoenix, Fawkes, usually sat.


	2. Chapitre 2: Au Retour

**Chapter Two**

Harry strode down the corridor, looking murderous.  Padfoot and Moony followed him towards the Head Student's area, where Harry stared at the portrait for a minute, "OPEN!" he growled, and it swung open mutely nodding it's head.  Sirius and Lupin leapt through it after him, and transformed.

"Harry –"

"Shut up!" Harry ordered, "You can talk to me in a moment.  I have something very important I need to do before I go with you to my house."

"Your House?" Sirius asked after his retreating figure, as Harry walked up the stairs to Hermione's bedroom, "since when has Harry had a house?"

Remus shrugged as his eyes followed Harry's diminishing figure.

Harry knocked on Hermione's door, which swung open a few minutes later and he stepped inside, "Hermione?" he asked tentatively, not sure how she would take the news of his return, "can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Does it have to be now?  I'm rather busy.  Who are you, anyway?  I haven't seen you around the school…" She turned around, her bushy hair having been sleeked magically since he'd last seen her.  Her brown eyes flashed with a kindly exhaustion, and her feminine figure only just hidden by the summery dress she wore, having obviously changed out of her Hogwarts robes.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said sadly, "It wasn't my fault."

"Who are you?"

"Harry Potter," he stared at her, wondering what her reaction would be, and whether it would be justified, whatever it was.

He didn't have to wait too long.  She blinked, looked him up and down, and shook her head, "No," she said decisively, after a moment, "you're too old.  He should be eighteen.  You look about twenty five."

"That's because I am twenty-five," Harry said, "Sirius could tell you, by my scent.  You would be able to tell, by changing into your Animagus form, which is incidentally an Owl."

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it on you, and the Owl fits."

"Are you really Harry?"

He nodded tiredly, "I'd even take Veritaserum to prove it, if you asked me to."

"YOU BASTARD!" she hissed, "HOW DARE YOU DISAPPEAR WITHOUT A WORD, AND WALTZ BACK IN LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione.  It wasn't my fault.  Dumbledore-"

"GET OUT!"

"But-"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Harry turned, "I'm sorry," he said as he turned and walked out quietly, shutting the door behind himself with a soft click.  He padded down the stairs, running into Draco Malfoy, obviously the Head Boy.

"Oh, hello!"

"Morning, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said politely, "I advise you not to disturb her.  She's just received a bit of a shock."

"Do I know you?"

"You used to," Harry said cryptically, as he walked downstairs to where Sirius and Remus were waiting, "do you guys have somewhere we can talk?" he asked, downcast, "I'd take you to my place, but I'm not exactly sure what state it's in."

Sirius took one look at Harry's distressed face and, with a bigness that was unusual for him, put his anger at Harry to one side and nodded, "you can come back to my place.  I was freed, _in your absence and got it back."_

Harry winced, "I'm sorry, alright.  There was nothing I could do about it, and the whole two years has been unbelievably hard for me too."

He nodded sharply, "can you apparate, or do you need to use Floo?"

"I can apparate," Harry said tonelessly,

"Black Mansion," Sirius said, "I'll see you there."

Harry disappeared with a 'pop' and reappeared moments later in front of a house known as Black Mansion, large and dark in appearance looking much less than welcoming at that moment to Harry, knowing as he did how much Sirius was pissed off with him.

Sirius appeared a few minutes later, with Remus close behind.   They walked up to the door, and Sirius pushed it open, "Come in," he said coldly, "Do you want anything to drink? Eat?"

"A cup of coffee would be good, thanks," Harry said quietly.

Remus nodded, "Cup of tea, thanks."

Sirius wandered off to the kitchen, and Harry followed Remus into the living room, where they both sat on opposite couches.  Harry finally let his guard down, and stopped monitoring the area around himself, knowing that he was safe with Padfoot and Moony, even if they _were pissed off with him._

He blanked out, into a trance-like state, which allowed him to zone out and deal with anything that was bothering him without cluttering his mind.  Slowly he sifted through all the emotions that had accumulated during his encounter with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, Malfoy and Hermione.  There was Anger, frustration, regret, resentment, even tinges of hatred, but mostly it was just disappointment and sadness.  It wasn't even Malfoy that he hated, though; time had turned his hatred into something else: he just didn't care about the other boy, anymore, not even that he was a fully initiated Death Eater, having already reached the inner-circle with his father.

After a few minutes, he heard Sirius come in and came back to his consciousness looking alert again.  He took the proferred cup of coffee, "thank you, Sirius,"

Sirius merely nodded, handing one of the other cups to Remus and taking a large sip of his own.  He turned to Harry, "Harry, I'll be honest.  I'm more than a little pissed off with you.  You've been gone for two years, without a word.  You've aged as though it's been ten, and you're about as emotional as a rock.  Where have you been?"


	3. Chapitre 3: Au Retour

**Chapter Three**

"I've been in hell, metaphorically speaking." Harry said softly, "not by choice.  I would have contacted you if I'd been able to, but there was nothing I could do.  I've been gone ten years, as far as my body and mind knew until this morning, and I'm as emotional as a rock because emotions are a risk.  If you have emotions, people can hurt you."

"Where was this 'hell'?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I believe it was Ambrosia.  The people in Ambrosia aren't nice, and I suffered because of it.  There was little I could do.  I ended up in Ambrosia because Dumbledore sent me there."

"You expect us to believe that Dumbledore did that?" Remus asked, "condemned you to what you called 'hell'? He wouldn't!  He's the best wizard in centuries!"

"I don't _expect you to believe anything.  Hell, I'd understand it if you __didn't believe me.  If you want me to, I'll leave you alone and never contact you again, but I am telling you the truth as far as I know it," Harry looked at them his eyes and face completely devoid of emotion._

Sirius blinked and his face hardened, "I think that's the best idea, Harry.  I don't appreciate being lied to, and neither does Remus.  If we need to contact _you we'll send you an owl."_

Harry nodded, tears coming into his eyes that he blinked away quickly, "I'll be going then.  Thanks for being there for me in third, fourth and fifth year, Sirius, Professor Lupin.  I'm sorry that it ended up this way."

With a wave of his hand, his mug of coffee disappeared back into the kitchen where it cleaned itself and climbed back into the cupboard.  He walked to the door, opened it and left, a single piece of paper dropping out of the back of his pocket (purposely, of course) and flying in on the wind to land on the table in front of Sirius.

Sirius picked it up and tentatively slit the seal, opening it, feeling something tug at his heart as he turned his godson, and the son of his best friend away.

_Dear Sirius, and Professor Lupin (if you're there),_

_If you get this letter then everything is turning out the way I had hoped it wouldn't.  I'm sorry you don't believe me about my absence, but to my mind and to those who were with me, it is true.  Albus Dumbledore transported me to a different realm, promising he would tell you, where I stayed for ten years._

_Upon my return, I discovered that only two years had passed here.  If you can never forgive me for my mistake in trusting my former headmaster, I understand – I regret it more than you will ever know.  He did what he thought was best, as always, but the consequences were far more serious than he will ever know, or understand._

_You will probably see me around Hogwarts between now and Voldemort's death, as I am working with Dumbledore to achieve the end of his reign of Terror.  I apologize if this upsets you.  I would not be working with Dumbledore unless I thought it would speed up the process, he knows about my animosity towards him, and although he doesn't accept it, he is dealing with it.  He will be able to answer many of your questions._

_I will always hope that you can forgive me, or begin to rebuild a friendship.  I always thought of you as something of surrogate parents.  If anything happens to any of us, know this – I love you, I always have.  You are my Patroni, and for your love during the time that I knew you, I am eternally grateful.  It was the thought of you that allowed me to carry on as I tried to escape from the realm and return to you._

_Harry._

A tear slipped down his cheek, dropping off the bottom of his chin, "It truly is the end of the Marauder's, then?" he said to Moony.

"It looks that way," Remus responded, "do you think we were a bit harsh, Padfoot?"

Sirius shrugged sadly, "perhaps, but it's too late now, isn't it?  We'll see him again, he said as much, and he did say that he would never turn away an owl from one of us."

Remus nodded distractedly, "What would James say?" he asked quietly, "He and Lily dead, Wormtail a traitor, his son estranged, blaming Dumbledore for something that apparently didn't even happen…"

"The world is a sad place, Remus," Sirius said sadly.

Harry lay down on his bed, after sending a short letter to Ron, Hermione and the Weasley Family.  He wondered exactly what had been happening in his absence.  As he lay down, a letter appeared on his desk.

_Dear Harry,_

_Please see me tomorrow, with regard to the Order of the __Phoenix__,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

He shut his eyes and sighed, dozing off into a sleep haunted by Voldemort and his actions.  There was no doubt in his mind that the coming weeks were going to be the most draining he'd ever experienced.


	4. Chapitre 4: Au Retour

**Chapter Four**

When he rose the next morning, he went running, covering almost twenty five kilometers before he returned back to his house for breakfast.  He grabbed a fruit and nut breakfast bar and then began to dress himself.****

First, he pulled on his cat suit, a tight leather fighting suit that allowed him full movement, but protected him from knives and physical weapons.  He then attached his belt and his shoulder and ankle holsters.  He placed a gun on each ankle, and a knife on the inside of each thigh.  On the outside of one he put a sword, his wand on the other.  He shrunk his staff, placing on his belt and then attached throwing knives, daggers and numerous potions to the belt.  He placed a gun in his shoulder holster and another wand in the other.  On top of that, he pulled white day-to-day robes that billowed and hid all the weaponry, but when in battle would allow easy access to the weapons.

He apparated to Dumbledore's office then, going straight through the anti-apparition wards that were supposed to be impenetrable, and sighed, wondering how this would all end and if he would ever be forgiven by his old friends.  Somehow, he doubted it.

"Headmaster," he nodded, "can I help you this morning?"

"The Order is meeting at lunch time, as you know, we cancelled the meeting last night."

"That's why I'm here," Harry said, "I believe it is time for my initiation, isn't it?  And you wanted to talk to me?"

"Sirius and Remus will be here shortly," Dumbledore said quietly, "we will talk when they arrive."

Harry nodded and leaned back in the chair unconcernedly, even though he was quailing inside.  He zoned out again, and his mind flowed away from the everyday world he normally inhabited, and in his meditation he began to deal with the emotions from the night before and his rejection by Sirius, who he had hoped for unconditional acceptance and love from, and Remus who had had hoped would understand.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and an angry Sirius stormed in, followed by a more passive Lupin, "What do you want Albus?" Sirius demanded, "I was enjoying my sleep this morning."

If he caught sight of Harry, Sirius made no comment, he took a seat on the opposite side of the room, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore.  Remus acknowledged Harry with a brief glance, and sat down beside Sirius who hadn't even looked towards Harry.  That hurt Harry more than he cared to admit, but he dismissed his emotions and turned to Dumbledore.

"I thought you might want to be privy to this discussion, is all," Dumbledore said calmly.  He turned to Harry, "before you can be initiated to the Order, Harry, I need some honest answers.  Is that alright?"

Harry inclined his head.

"Have you ever been a Death Eater, or fought for Dark outcomes?"

"I have never been a Death Eater.  I have done things which could be termed Dark," Harry said tonelessly.

"And what would those be?"

"I did things that could possibly have hurt others for personal gain.  I have never killed someone for personal gain and I have never used the three unforgiveables on another."

"I received your records last night, from Kruger.  You have one hundred and sixty-two offences.  Would you care to explain them?"

"Twenty five were for trying to contact my godfather," Harry said quietly, "I received three days in the chambers for each of them.  Fifty were for trying to escape, I was given physical labor after a week in the chambers for those, and the rest were for various offences that came down to my attempts to return to my home, here.  I took various punishments for those."

"And the Chambers were?"

Harry's temper flared, "You know _damn well what the chambers are, Dumbledore, and I __know what you're trying to do.  I don't appreciate you trying to manipulate me.  You might be almost six hundred, but I've lived more in my twenty five years than you have in your entire lifetime."_

Remus blinked as he sensed much pent up anger being released but unfocused.  Sirius seemed to have tuned out to the conversation and was humming to himself quietly.  Dumbledore was staring hard at Harry.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," he said quietly, "The only remaining question is, when the Phoenix places you, will you accept your position without complaint?"

"Of course," Harry said simply, "like I have accepted everything else that I could not change, without a word."

"What do you mean by that?" Remus demanded suddenly.

Harry kept his eyes on Dumbledore, "I never wanted to be what I was made; I never wanted to be The Boy Who Lived, and I never wanted to have everyone just assume that I would be there to save their lives, there was a higher chance of me dying than there was of me saving their lives at the time that these assumptions were made.  I was one of the only people who ever accepted that and understood it.  You, perhaps, came close."

Remus nodded, appearing satisfied.  Harry shrugged to himself and looked at Dumbledore, "Can we get on with this?" he demanded, "I have work to do."

"Work?" Dumbledore asked, surprised.

"Yes, work.  As in, a job!" Harry said with a tinge of sarcasm.

There was a popping sound for a few minutes as over twenty people apparated into the room.  Harry didn't even look at them, he already knew who each one was: He was, after all, wearing his "Marauder Glasses" – a self-made invention, they looked like sunglasses but were actually an eye-size Marauder's map of the immediate area around Harry.

Dumbledore stood up after a moment, "As the Phoenix of the present day, I welcome you to the initiation of a new Phoenix member and the first meeting of the final phase in the battle against Lord Voldemort.

"After the judging of Harry James Potter, we will begin our meeting."

There was a startled shift, as the order members heard who the new member was, but when he stood up it was nothing to the number of wands that were pointed at him.  Sirius and Remus stood, too, and looked around at everyone, not saying a word.

Fawkes came flying in, and looked around, her golden brown eyes falling on Harry.  He bowed deeply to her, and she trilled to him,

"So, you are finally wanting to join the order…"

He inclined his head, "Yes, your majesty."

"And you wish to be judged."

"I do not wish for anything, your majesty.  I do only what is asked of me in a time of need, only what is necessary to help."

The phoenix inclined her head in understanding and with a flick of her tail, trilled a short song, looking out the window as though she was expecting something.

Moments later, another phoenix flew through the window, a white-gold one with tufts of red, green and blue feathers, it spoke with Fawkes for a few moments before turning it's emerald green eyes on Harry, "I am Saraide, I am the newest Phoenix to the order.  Take a feather of mine, one of the Gold ones."

Harry blinked, nodded, and grasped a golden feather.  Immediately, Saraide flew up and landed on his shoulder, "Thank you," he said to her.

Harry held out the feather to Dumbledore, "This is what I was given."

There was a muted muttering around the room, and Dumbledore stared at it for a moment, his thoughts shielded, "That is not possible, Harry."

Raising an Eyebrow, Harry turned a piercing gaze on Dumbledore, "and why not?"

Saraide, sitting on his shoulder chirped loudly, "Exactly," she said, in Phoenician.

Fawkes flew across to Dumbledore and chirped into his ear, unfortunately Harry couldn't understand it.  Finally Dumbledore nodded, "Lord Phoenix!" he said, dipping his head sharply to Harry.

There is a certain etiquette to bowing;  The deeper the bow, the more respect and more you like someone.  Because Dumbledore had only dipped his head, it showed he had little respect.  The others in the room took their lead from Dumbledore and only dipped their heads; The only two variations were Remus and Sirius.  Sirius dropped his eyes, not moving his head, and Remus gave a half-bow, showing his mistrust but open undecidedness.

"Thank you for your honesty, everyone," Harry said quietly, "I bring this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to order."  He smiled genially at everyone, ignoring the mistrustful looks he received, "We are all here because of one person: Voldemort.  He has hurt everyone in some way or other," Harry looked around, seeing fear in peoples faces from the name, "As a part of the Order of the Phoenix, you will all train in both Magical and Muggle fighting techniques,"

One of the men stepped forwards, "Why should we listen to you?  What qualities make you our leader over Dumbledore?"


	5. Chapitre 5: Au Retour

**Chapter Five**

Harry turned and fixed an eye on the man, "Fletcher," he said coldly, "If what I've done throughout my life isn't enough, then you will see again during the training program and our activities against Voldemort, why I am leading the Order.  And remember, All of you are free to leave at any time."

There was a shuffling, and Harry continued, "Each night, you will be expected at Godric's Hollow at some point, where we will all be training.  It will only take a few hours each night.  You will be hurt, injured and in pain, but when you face a Death Eater, it will be worth it.  Dismissed."

Everyone shuffled out, walking to the edge of the anti-apparition barriers, Harry nodded to Dumbledore, "I'm living at Godric's Hollow for the moment.  My House is under renovations.  If anyone needs me, they can apparate or floo in."  He nodded to Remus and Sirius, and left.

When he arrived at Godric's Hollow, he removed the illusion charms on it, and returned it to a habitable state, soothing the raw, injured magic that ran through it, left over from Voldemort's attack.  He fixed the outside first, reconstructing it from nothing, before finally feeling satisfied enough to enter.

It was a small, two-storey house at first glance, with a homey sort of feel to it, but nothing like what it had been as he remembered from childhood.  Instead, the garden was neat and well cared for, green and lush to boot.  The house was made of bricks, strong and solid, with magical doors and windows that opened according to Harry's desires. 

A few minutes later, he finally got inside the house, he realized that he still had _more work to do if he was going to finish his house before the first lot of Order members came for training that evening.  He quickly blasted some walls into place, and the second story, not forgetting to add steps that acted like a muggle escalator, rolling you up to the next floor as soon as you stepped on.  _

He painted the walls with another spell, and placed a fireplace in what would become the living room, and then went upstairs to the master bedroom which was his first priority.  Training for tonight would be fighting as a team against an illusion of twenty five death eaters, who could injure them but not kill them.  

The Bedroom was decorated in a pale yellow, with a lush golden yellow carpet, thick, warm and soft to the touch.  He conjured up a double-bed, adding a thick, comfortable mattress and a large green doona that adjusted to keep you warm, or cool as needed.  Two pillows for either side, and another European one in the middle.

As he was creating the wardrobe there was a knocking on the doorjamb  behind him and Harry turned around to see Arthur Weasley, holding a green Weasley sweater and a box of Mrs. Weasley's toffee's, "A peace offering!" Arthur said, holding them out to Harry.

Harry grinned, "thank you!" he said, "Come on in,"

Mr. Weasley had been quite upset when he'd heard that Harry had disappeared, and he was relieved beyond belief when he found Harry had returned, but this wasn't the sort of Harry he was expecting.  He'd expected Harry to be more like Ron; a relatively carefree teenager, dating, going through puberty…

"How are you, Harry?" he asked.

"Oh," Harry grimaced, "as well as can be expected, I don't have many friends anymore, or even anyone who believes me.  Obviously my credibility was used up for me."

Arthur sighed, "well, I believe that whatever happened, it wasn't your fault.  I just struggle to believe that it was Dumbledore's fault."

Harry nodded, "well, I suppose I can hope that one day the truth is revealed, one way or the other…"

"Well, I have to be going, but I just thought I'd let you know that you're always welcome in our home.  Only Ron and Hermione don't-"

"I know," Harry interrupted, "I might drop in some time to say hi to Mrs. Weasley again, and did Fred and George start their joke shop in the end?"

"Yeah, they did.  It's doing quite well, although many of their products have been banned at Hogwarts and their sales dropped slightly…"

Harry grimaced, "I can try and change that, but I doubt it would do much."

Arthur nodded, and left quickly with a promise that if Harry needed anything, all he had to do was ask.  Harry promised to visit, and the world was somewhat happy again.

Harry moved downstairs and created an underground floor for himself, turning it into something of a tavern, stocking it with weapons of every kind imaginable, and even some that weren't.  He set up the illusion for tonight and created something to transport everyone straight down as soon as they arrived and then he started running around the track as he warmed up.

When he'd covered ten kilometers he created an illusion that would fight him, being slightly better than himself, he set about a magical fight.

Magical fights are interesting because they use both muggle and magical weapons, and spells, charms, hexes and curses are passed along the blade and at the opponent until one or other of the two fighters fall down dead, or unconscious.  Harry feinted with his sword, the light from the stadium lights being passed off the blade, temporarily blinding his illusory opponent, at the same time as he threw four curses across.

The two of them switched between swords, knives, daggers, throwing circles and shooting stars, spells being sent left right and center, rebounding away from shields stronger than any previously created.  Harry was almost positive that he could block the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, but he wasn't about to risk his life to test his theory.

He stopped immediately when people started to Apparate in, and sat down, pouring himself a cup of coffee, and just watching to see who appeared.  When Dumbledore arrived, he walked straight over to Harry, "What will we be doing tonight?" he asked wearily, obviously being tired from his day at school.

"Duelling," Harry shrugged, "should be fun."

The Order fell into a circle that reminded him eerily of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Harry noted Sirius, Remus, Professor McGonagall and a few other familiar faces.  To his surprise, Snape wasn't one of them.  He waved a hand, "At ease," he said with a slight twitch at the corners of his mouth, and then it hardened into a single, thin pressed line.

"Good Evening, everyone," he said coldly, "We are here to fight against some things that I have conjured up because I want to see everyone's skills first hand and tomorrow you will be fighting me.  After that, everyone will be working on their strengths and weaknesses until they know at least some of _every method of fighting._

"You will be fighting Death Eaters, most of the time, but some of you might receive the doubtful privilege of fighting face to face against Voldemort.  Let me assure you, this training will allow you to be able to fight with a reasonable chance of success.  Naturally, I make no guarantees, but I do believe that you are all capable fighters.

"Now, earlier today, someone asked why I was leading this group, and what experiences I had.  I'm going to fill you in after our training session tonight, after which I believe everyone will be nursing an injury of some kind.  I recommend you change into your fighting robes and grab a weapon that you _KNOW HOW TO USE."_

The men and women scattered, picking up the shooting stars and looking at them strangely, most of the men took swords but some took daggers and throwing knives, looking dubious about their value.  All of them had their wands out.

Harry stepped to the front, dropped his hand, and the illusion appeared.  Fifty Death Eaters, twenty-five Dementors and a huddle of Vampires against the twenty people from the Order.  There were horrified gasps, and Harry shook his head in disbelief, these people were really quite soft and wouldn't last long.

One of the "death eaters" fired a curse, at Harry who backflipped under it, forcing the man behind him to shield it.  Out of his foot, as it flew over, Harry shot back another curse, and the Death Eaters, Vampires and Dementors attacked in full force.  

Suddenly, whatever had been holding them back was lifted, and the Order leapt into battle, throwing curses and hexes backwards and forwards with a remarkable speed and agility.  Unfortunately, the Death Eaters changed to physical weapons, forgetting wands, and the men looked lost.  Harry grimaced, jumping into battle – followed by Remus, Dumbledore and one other man who he didn't know too well, Smythe.  

The others stepped back, firing curses off as best they could, dealing with the Vampires and Dementors while the other four dueled all the Death Eaters.  Harry was back to back with Dumbledore, a protective action, but Dumbledore wasn't doing too well.  Harry was having to cover both his front and Dumbledore's side, as the Death Eaters were throwing their swords exceedingly fast.  Remus and Smythe were being backed into corners on the other sides of the room, and with a cry of pure frustration, Harry waved his hand and the illusion disappeared.

The four who had been fighting doubled over, breathing heavily.  Harry was the first to stand again, and he walked over to the table and magicked all the weapons back to their stands.  He then conjured up drink bottles for everyone, "Alright, please take a seat," he said, drawing seats out of thin air.


End file.
